Returns
by TheMysticMoon
Summary: SEQUEL to my other story Decisions. Lucy's back, and with a new style and new attitude nothing will stop her. Recommened you read other one 1st but could be read by itself
1. The Return

**Hello! :D I wasn't sure when I would get this posted but I suddenly wanted to write so….. Here you go the sequel! (To Decisions :P) Anywho, I hope everyone likes this and PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks!**

**- Myst**

It had been a long time since she had seen this town. It was still just as she had remembered. Though it was still early, barely an hour past six, there were still many people bustling around the town already. She passed through the streets quietly, silently taking in any differences. A slight smile appeared on her face when she passed her old apartment.

She thought about going to see her old landlord about getting the place back again, but decided against it as she took in how early it was. The sky was a soft golden pink, the sun only just rising above the clouds that seemed to ring the town.

She continued on her journey toward the one place she would ever call home. She had missed this walk, this town, these people, these shops, and so much more. She was happy to have come back, though she never regretted leaving. She always felt that it had been the right choice for her, even if the decision had been made quickly.

As the guild finally came into sight she paused and listened. She couldn't hear any noise coming from inside but a light snoring. She strode to the door and opened it as quietly as possible. She caught her breath. Gods how she'd missed this place!

Tables scratched, bar stools knocked over, mostly empty drinks on the tables some even knocked over and spilling there contents all over. Lucy inhaled, taking in the smells of the place.

Looking around she spotted the person that she had hoped would be here so early in the morning. She walked quickly toward him, making sure not to bump into anything. Once she had reached him, she gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Master," She whispered first, then louder, "Master!"

He jerked up, startled. He stared at her as if he thought he was seeing things.

"Lucy?" He asked, unsure of himself.

"Mhmm, it's me." She smiled at him almost reassuringly.

He blinked, and then stood up. Motioning for her to follow him, Makarov lead the way to his office in the back. Once he had ushered her inside he shut the door tightly, and seemed to linger there whispering to himself so that Lucy couldn't here. Turning around he walked to his seat, and pointed to the chair he wanted Lucy to sit in.

"I'm surprised," He started, "I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon. I thought it would be a year or more before we saw you here again. I trust your training went well?"

"Yes, it went very well," Lucy started, "And _I_ trust that you kept your promise…?"

"Oh, yes! I didn't tell them where you went or what you were _really_ doing. I simply said that you had been sent out on a long term mission that required complete separation from the guild for an undetermined amount of time."

Lucy smiled and said, "Thank you! However, I somewhat regret asking you to lie. While I am grateful, if I am to come back I won't feel comfortable lying to them. You will need to announce the _real_ reason I left, though perhaps some details may be left out."

Makarov stared at her; then slowly nodded his head, "I see that you have matured much more than I had predicted. You've been gone for three years, and although I'm the only one who has had contact with you from the guild I'm still surprised by how much you've changed."

And he was right, Lucy _had_ changed. Lucy's face no longer had a lot of make-up on, and her hair was so long it brushed the seat of her chair. Likewise her apparel had also changed, instead of her variety of mini skirts and tight-fitting tops; Lucy now wore black shorts that looked more like tights with her keys, on the right, and her whip, on the left, attached to belt loops. She wore a black t-shirt, and instead of boots on her feet there were now black shoes that looked vaguely like converse. To top it off she wore a dark blue traveling cape.

It was almost like the person sitting in front of Makarov wasn't Lucy at all, but he knew. He knew this was Lucy; there was a spark in her eye that even now he hadn't noticed in any other female.

Lucy grinned, and stated, "Yes, I definitely have changed. I learned that my other clothes, while fashionable, weren't realistic for fighting in. That and I grew my hair out. Do you like it?"

"Yes, while _much_ different from what I remember, I think that this suits you." He smiled, and Lucy thought that the smile was one a father would give a daughter when he was proud of her. She blushed, and mumbled a 'thank you' in return.

Makarov continued, "I can guarantee that I will tell the guild about our secret. However, not everyone is in town right now. We should wait until everyone gets back before we announce that your back and why you actually left."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully, and then replied "I agree, I wouldn't want rumours to spread about my return before everyone from the guild knew. When do you think everyone will be back?"

"Given the mission, and the amount of time they've been gone already, I would say a day two tops though it's unlikely." He replied after a few seconds.

Lucy nodded her head and asked, "Can I go on a quick mission then? One that will only take a day or two to get done; then I'll return in time for the introduction and explanation. I don't have anything to do here, and if I stay people have a chance of seeing me."

The indecision on Makarov's face prompted Lucy to ad quickly, "I can even send one of my spirits ahead of me to let you know where I am, how I'm doing, and when I expect to be back."

He considered carefully, before nodding his head, "If you think you can be back in time then go ahead, I'm not going to stop you."

"Thank you!" Lucy cried, jumping out of her seat and rushing to the door.

"Wait one more thing!" Makarov said, taken by surprise by Lucy's enthusiasm.

She turned curiosity in her eyes "Yes?"

"Welcome home," He replied, his eyes glittering "Welcome back to Fairy Tail."

Lucy smiled, with unshed tears in her eyes and said:

"I'm back!"

**Ok there's chapter one of Returns! I drew a picture of Lucy just to give you some idea of what it is she looks like now. It kinda sucks, and doesn't look that much like her but you can see what she's supposed to be wearing…. Well except for the shoes, I had to crop the picture into a square so that the picture would actually fit. Anyway, it's my profile picture now so if you want, you should go check it out! **


	2. Putting It Bluntly

**Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm glad you guys liked it :D I'm looking forward to writing about how Lucy and everyone in the guild have changed; I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter too! **

**-Myst**

Lucy crept carefully through the guild to the mission board. Her heart beating quickly, she looked over the many different missions that she could take. She took a couple random papers down and debated on which one she should pick.

A relatively weak monster was attacking people in a close by town; an old man who needed someone to journey into a 'haunted' forest to find a flower that would cure his wife's sickness. And last but not least, a job escorting a monk-who thought that he might be attacked-to a temple where he was to deliver an important scroll.

She considered her options, but had to make a snap decision as she heard footsteps outside the guild door. She quickly picked up the one closest to her, which happened to be the one indicating that she was going to be escorting a monk, and ran to the back door. Carefully opening it just enough for her to slip through, she was outside and pulling the hood of her cape up and over her head.

Keeping her head down, and with the guild mission paper clutched tightly in her hand, Lucy made her way to the place where the monk was currently staying.

* * *

To say that this mission was boring would be the understatement of Lucy's life. The monk she was escorting was, as expected, the stereotypical essence of what they were thought to be. Bald, boring, and had a _bad_ fashion sense. Not to mention the fact that whenever he talked to her the calm, serene and _wise_ tone of voice he used never ceased to piss Lucy off.

She just couldn't believe that one man could _possibly_ be all-knowing. _Especially_ this one. Lucy constantly had to remind herself that there was a reason she was doing this. Taking deep breaths, she surveyed her surroundings with a critical eye and a calm demeanour.

She was taking the monk through a forest notorious for thieves, something she had decided because it was the fastest route to the temple. So far nothing had happened; in fact the only thing that had crossed their paths so far was a squirrel.

This made Lucy suspicious. Lucy wasn't the paranoid type, but she knew when something was up. In her training she had learned – almost effortlessly- how to read a situation and formulate a plan of attack in 2-4 seconds, depending on how disoriented she was.

This wasn't what should be happening in a forest in September. More animals should be out and about collecting food for the upcoming winter. The birds in the trees were quiet, making her eye her surroundings in suspicion.

"Walk carefully," Lucy warned, almost silently, "Something is coming."

The monk looked ahead, as if he hadn't even heard her speak, but Lucy could see how he trembled slightly. She wondered for a moment what was so important about a scroll, then dismissed the thought. She didn't need to know that, even if she _was_ curious.

Pulling her hood away from her face, and letting it fall to rest gracefully on her shoulders Lucy stopped walking. She had finally detected the source of the problem.

Peering through the bushes at the side of the road were five bandits. Dressed in ripped and dirtied clothing, with a noticeable stench hanging over them, the bandits weren't very well equipped. With only knives and some swords they were poorly matched against a pissed Lucy. They jumped out of the bushes with a battle cry, raised their weapons above their heads and charged.

Lucy reacted immediately, pushing the monk quickly behind a tree and pulling her whip out gracefully from her side without the blink of an eye. Her whip cut through the air, knocking weapons from the hands of their wielders. The satisfying _smack_ of the whip hitting flesh rebounded around the area, and like that it was over. The fight barely lasted a minute, but Lucy finally felt calmer.

She turned and walked to the tree behind which she'd put the monk. She smiled as she saw him huddled on the ground.

"It's ok now, I took care of them. We should get moving if we're going to make it to the temple by nightfall." She told him gently. It was obvious to her that he was unused to battles and in shock.

He bobbed his head, and with wide eyes stood shakily next to Lucy as if awaiting her command.

"Well, come on then." She said, a glint of humour in her eyes.

He nodded jerkily and followed after her on wobbly legs.

It was slow-going the rest of the way to the temple. There were no more surprises either, which Lucy was thankful for because they were already far enough behind schedule as it was.

It was already an hour past dark when they finally arrived at their destination. Lucy was happy, though she had hoped that she would be able to leave before dark. However that problem was entirely solved when the monks of the temple all but demanded that she spend the night there and then leave in the morning.

Lucy agreed reluctantly, though she knew that she would probably be late now. It had already been a day, so the team from the guild were expected to be back either late tonight or sometime tomorrow.

It had taken almost a full day to arrive, and she estimated that if she walked fast then she might get there sooner…._ Oh well, _she thought, _I'll get there when I get there and that's all there is to it. Though I wish things had gone a bit more according to plan._

Frowning, she picked at the blanket she was snuggled under, wondering what tomorrow might bring. She wondered briefly how the guild would react to the news of her return, not to mention what they might think about what she had been doing. _UGH! _She thought frustrated with herself, _Come on Lucy! Get a grip! You made the right decision to leave and train. For right now all you can do is hope for the best!_

And she did, or she tried to anyway. She woke up throughout the night in a cold sweat, but couldn't remember for the life of her what it was that she had been dreaming about.

* * *

When dawn came she was up, bathed and ready to leave. After making hasty goodbyes to her hosts, Lucy walked away from the temple ready for a _long_ day of walking.

Even though she was already running late, Lucy decided to walk the safer _and _longer way this time. She wasn't much in the mood for fighting at the moment. It was a nice day out and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

When she came upon a town she was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a train station. She walked quickly to the ticket booth, wanting to find out when the next train would be in.

"Excuse me? Could you please tell me when the next train will be here?"

The man in the booth looked up from his book, blinked a couple of times and then blushed before saying, "Umm yes I can tell you that. Oh where did I put that schedule? I just ha- Oh! Here it is, the next train will be coming in about thirty minutes."

Lucy smiled and nodded her thanks to the flustered man before buying a ticket and wandering around town looking for a place to eat. She settled on a family restaurant finding that the food smelled better to her than others.

Once she had ordered, she pulled her hood down having forgotten it was up until now. She gazed out the window, not really looking at anything in particular. When the waitress set down her steaming plate of food, Lucy jumped in surprise.

Lucy smiled at her, "Thank you."

The woman nodded with a small smile on her face before turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Lucy began to eat with a satisfied smile on her face, she was right to have chosen this place the food was delicious.

When she was done, Lucy left the money on the table and got up to go wait for the train. Pulling her hood up once again, Lucy exited the restaurant with a quick pace. Her cloak billowing behind her in the wind, she made her way through the unfamiliar streets hoping she hadn't gotten herself lost.

On the way to the train station she remembered that she had told Master Makarov that she would send one of her spirits ahead of her to tell him where she was.

"Open, canis minor gate Nicholas!" Lucy said, summoning Plue. Plue too had changed over the years, now bigger and less twitchy Plue was a spirit Lucy spent a lot of time with and had come to count on.

"Hello," Lucy started, smiling, "I've a favour to ask of you. Do you think you could transport through the spirit world to Master Makarov's office to let him know where I am and when I expect to be back?"

At Plue's nod Lucy continued, "Ok just one more thing; you can't let anyone but the Master see you. The rest of the guild doesn't know that I'm back yet."

Plue seemed to roll his eyes but nodded anyway, agreeing to her terms. He waited patiently while Lucy told him what to say, then he left to the spirit world and Lucy went off to find the train station.

Once there, she boarded the train as soon as it arrived and quickly found a seat. If she had calculated correctly, the train would arrive at her stop in about two and half, maybe three, hours.

* * *

Lucy dozed, head leaning against the window with her hood still up. In fact she would have missed her stop if it hadn't been for the ticket collector shaking her awake, having made small talk with him for a little while before she slept, she had mentioned where she was going.

"Thank you! Really, thank you so much!" Lucy said, flushing with embarrassment.

"No problem Miss Lucy, I hope you have a good time in Magnolia." The old man replied with a carefree laugh.

Lucy smiled, and got off the train making sure to pull her hood down over her face. She'd made it this far, and she would be damned if this didn't turn out properly. Walking swiftly through the town with her head down, Lucy made it to the guild without any trouble.

She made her way to the back door, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. She opened the door and slipped inside silently. Her first stop was the Master's office, knocking softly on the door. When no answer came she knocked louder, still no answer.

Deciding he was out in the main area with everyone else, Lucy walked quietly down the hallway. She peered around the corner, being careful not to be seen. Spotting Makarov by the counter chatting to Mirajane, she tried to think of someway to get his attention without alerting anyone else.

She came up with nothing and instead settled for just walking up to him. As she strode toward him every eye in the guild watched her. The Master, noticing the quiet room, turned around and his eyes widened.

"You weren't in your office." She said, pointing out the obvious.

He smiled, and nodded, "No, I suppose I wasn't. Well now that you're finally here, why don't you go wait for me up on the second floor?"

He turned to the guild, and exclaimed, "I will have an announcement to make in a few minutes so don't go anywhere!"

He followed Lucy up the stairs, eyes firmly planted on the stairs he was walking on. Or at least that's what he'd say if it was ever brought up. Once at the top, Makarov and Lucy caught up on the last two days. Nothing much had happened at the guild, only the normal; though Lucy thought that the term normal was used loosely.

They were just finishing up when a familiar voice called out, "HEY! Master! Are you almost ready! I'm bored!"

Lucy giggled at how little Natsu's personality had changed. Makarov glanced at her, a frown on his face but laughter in his eyes.

"OH SHUT IT!" He shouted back at Natsu, coming over to stand on top of the railing.

"Well get on with it already! And who was that weird person in the weird clothes!" Natsu retaliated.

Lucy's brow twitched at the insult, and she stepped up so that she could be seen again.

"YA!" Natsu exclaimed, "That one! Who is that? And what was it that you wanted to say?"

Lucy almost burst at being called 'that one' but with a shake of his head Makarov silenced her.

"If you would be quiet then I will continue," He paused to see if there would be any other interruptions, when there were none he continued, "Now that that's done, lets get to it shall we? As you all know Lucy has been away for three years. I had previously told you that it was because I asked her to take a long term mission that required her to have no contact with the that wasn't completely true. I have been prompted to tell you the truth, so here it is. Lucy left to train."

Lucy hit him upside the head for putting it so bluntly. Everyone in the guild froze.

"Ouch! Really, why do you have to be so harsh?" He whined.

"Well you didn't have to put it so bluntly. I mean, why couldn't you have eased into it a bit more?" Lucy waved her hands all around, gesturing wildly. In this time she managed to knock her hood from her head.

Everything in the guild was still, until finally one voice spoke up. Sounding shaky and emotional Natsu managed to choke out the question running through everyone's mind:

"Lucy?"

* * *

**Ok, there you go! I hope you like it! :D Please review and tell me what you think, or something that you want to happen! I'll definitely try to find a way to work it into the story!**


	3. New Beginnings

_Crap_, was the only thought running through Lucy's mind as she stood there. She was upset, she couldn't believe that after all the hard work it had taken to keep her return a secret, and she had ruined it with a few misplaced gestures. _I put up with that monk for a __**whole**__ day! Jeez, if I had known this would happen I would have just walked through the front doors when everyone was here!_

She smiled, a blush covering her face as she tried to come up with something to say, finally she just settled on, "Yes?"

Makarov coughed into his fist, awkwardly trying to call attention back to himself, "Well, as you can see Lucy is back…. So that's it. Continue as you were."

Lucy's lips twitched in annoyance. She very carefully considered the pros and cons of seriously injuring or maybe maiming the Master. Deciding that she would rather not get into a big fight when she had just returned, she sighed and shook her head to clear it of the thoughts.

She looked through the windows; it had somehow become dark though she didn't feel that much time had passed. She wondered briefly if she should leave before it got too late, she didn't have a place to stay yet so she would have to figure something out.

She weighed her options, she wanted to stay and talk to everyone but she would need to go soon if she wanted to find a reasonable place to stay for a few days. Sighing, she told Makarov that she had to go then walked quickly down the stairs and toward the front entrance.

All eyes on her, she made her way stiffly through the guild. Usually attention didn't bother her very much but this was different. These were the people that she had come to know and love as family. If they didn't accept her, she doubted that anyone else in the world could.

Maybe it was best that they had tonight to think about her return, in the morning she would see what her family thought of her now. No doubt they were surprised, it was written clearly on every single face there. She knew that some people would be angry, some sad, some quiet and some very up in her face. This didn't upset her as much as one would think though.

She had expected these things, and she welcomed them. At least they still felt _something _for her. This was all she wished for, that they feel something. She didn't need them to warm up to her right away, didn't need them to burst into tears of happiness. She didn't want them in pain, but pains better than emptiness. _That _she knew for sure.

Her troubled thoughts continued throughout the night, quieting only long enough for her to sleep for a couple of hours before they started again. She had found a reasonably priced place to stay; she would be comfortable here until she found another place to live.

She sighed to herself while washing her hair. She just couldn't stop thinking, and it was beginning to get on her nerves. _C'mon Lucy! This isn't like you! Stop thinking and just LIVE! _She scolded herself, wrapping a towel around herself as she stepped out of her hot shower.

She tied her hair up in a pony-tail, and pulled on a pair of shorts before picking out a dark blue t-shirt. Slipping on her running shoes, she decided to forgo the cloak today; she though it might be weird now that the guild knew she was back.

She went out for breakfast rather than going to the guild, she knew that she was just putting it off but she found comfort in doing it. She spent most of the day wandering around the town checking out the stores. It was dark out before she finally managed to convince herself to go.

She approached the door slowly, and when she stood in front of it; she rocked back on her heels slowly. Pursing her lips, she would reach her hand forward as if she was going to open the door; only to pull back as if she were shocked. This continued for a couple of minutes, and she shifted uncomfortably in her spot. _Maybe I should come back later, _she thought, _I mean maybe there busy or… something._

Lucy sighed, and smacked herself in the head lightly; trying to knock some sense into her. She _knew_ that she should be able to open the door. She stretched her hand out and placed her hand on the door, she closed her eyes and just listened to all the noise coming from inside.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she pushed on the door open slowly. Footsteps on the gravel behind her made her pause and turn to see who it was. Her eyes widened in surprise, her mouth opened in shock but no sound came out.

"Why are you here?" She asked, after a minute of silence.

"What, I'm not allowed to visit?" Asked the stranger, his deep voice tinged with slight amusement.

"I-I'm not sure… what did you say were doing here again?" Lucy asked, confusion marring her face.

"I never said what I was doing here, so I'm incapable of reminding you." He replied, his smirk widening as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

Lucy huffed in annoyance and asked again, "_What_ are you _doing_ _here_?"

The stranger clicked his tongue in fake disappointment, "Now, now Lucy no need to get upset. I only came to check up on you. I was worried that your so-called 'family' wouldn't accept you back."

She stiffened, "I don't see how that's _any_ of your business."

"Awe, c'mon Lucy don't be like that. You know as well as I do that feelings change." He seemed to enjoy the reaction that got out of her. Lucy had frozen, staring at him. She didn't know what to say, didn't know what to think.

"Just leave." She stated, as she turned around and walked inside hiding her face from the man, she didn't want him to see her cry.

Once inside, with the door firmly closed, she slid to the ground and buried her face in her hands.

"Lucy?" An unusually soft voice came from her side, confusion and worry clear from the tone of voice. Sniffling, she turned to the voice. She stared into questioning golden eyes for a few seconds before throwing her arms around the man and burying her face in his neck.

He seemed to stiffen for a second before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. She cried for awhile, and the other guild members crowded around her asking her what had happened, if she was okay, and if they needed to beat anyone up for her.

Eventually the cries stopped, and the man leaned back a little to see her face only find that she had fallen asleep.

His eyes bugged out comically, and he shifted his eyes around before whispering, "What am I supposed to do! She fell asleep!"

The rest of the guild rolled there eyes and walked away; only one person stayed back and stared at Natsu incredulously.

"You really _are_ an idiot." The man stated rolling his dark eyes before turning away.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!" The golden-eyed mage yelled at the man walking away, standing up and dropping Lucy, who he had been holding, onto the ground. He stared at her for a second, and then glanced up at the man he had been yelling at like it was his fault.

Lucy's eyes flew open when she hit the ground, her body smarting from the impact. Narrowing her eyes, at the mage in front of she yelled, "YOUR _SO_ GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!"

The mage turned and fled in the opposite direction, Lucy screaming after him:

"GET BACK HERE! NATSU!"

* * *

**Okay thanks for waiting so looooong! I had exams _ lets just say math isnt my thing. Thank you for all of the _awesome _reviews! I hope you leave more!**


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